Floating Shelf

kerri_gt

We've bought a couple of floating shelves which have been a bit of a learning curve to put up.

https://www.homebase.co.uk/duraline-white-floating-shelf-60cm_p270254

They're being fixed to a brick / masonry wall. Have managed 1 x 50mm screw in the centre hole, a 1 x 50mm top right, and 1 x 40mm in the bottom right, with 1 x 40mm in the top left.

Tried to show it below with X being screws and O being holes in the brackets

X O X O X
O O X O


We've found it really difficult getting the drill holes to line up with the bracket, even when starting a pilot hole with the bracket in situ by hammering in a screw tip - then drilling a small hole, then making it big enough for a wall plug ...then put everything back and flipping thing seems to have moved.

Can anyone hazard a guess as to whether the number of screws used will be enough for the shelf - it's relatively short at 60cm and we don't intend on putting the whole collection of the Encyclopedia Britannica up but I don't want it to come crashing down one night.

d0nkeyk0ng

I think we have a couple of shelves similar from Ikea. I was able to get the holes reasonably lined up so it wasn’t much of an issue. But the instructions advised I think 5 screws out of a possible 9 or 10, and I put in 7 to be certain.

I have a TV on one and some books on another. It’s been up a few months. If you’re not sure, you could put an extra screw in each of the bottom corners. Longer screws will be better- keep them at 50mm.

Any reason why you used a mix of 40 and 50mm?

kerri_gt

Thanks d0kneyk0ng I used a mix of screws basically because that was what I could find in the tool box at the time.

We did have some other 50mm but typical Sod's law is they are too wide to go trough the bracket holes. I used a 50mm for the centre hole at least thinking this was a decent anchor point.

The duraline shelves don't advise on the qty to use but I have some longer ones in the home office which have two per end and the centre screw that were installed by a carpenter when doing a job and seem solid enough.

StumpyPumpy

Tip for getting the holes in the right place:

• Put a strip of masking tape over the holes in the bracket
• Mark the position of the holes with a pen on the masking tape
• Unpeel masking tape from bracket and transfer to wall
• Repeat with other bracket
• Assemble shelf (if necessary) and hold up against tape to confirm location is correct, level, etc...
• Drill holes straight through marks on masking tape

It isn't impossible to get this method to fail but it takes a certain talent


SP

kerri_gt

StumpyPumpy wrote: »

Tip for getting the holes in the right place:

• Put a strip of masking tape over the holes in the bracket
• Mark the position of the holes with a pen on the masking tape
• Unpeel masking tape from bracket and transfer to wall
• Repeat with other bracket
• Assemble shelf (if necessary) and hold up against tape to confirm location is correct, level, etc...
• Drill holes straight through marks on masking tape

It isn't impossible to get this method to fail but it takes a certain talent


SP

Ohhh, good tip re masking tape....oh crap....I've just realised I used the last the other week...sounds like I need to go get some more, and some 50mm screws too. I think I could prob slide the tape under the bracket to mark so it should align from the off. Thank you

-taff

If you have a scanner you can print out a life size scanned bracket and use that for holes.

kerri_gt

Shelves are up! Hurrah.

Added an extra screw to the one I'd already put up, and stopped procrastinating and went to Homebase and got a bag of 4mm x 50mm double threaded screws. For some reason on the second shelf the rawl plugs, which had fitted ok with the same drill bit on the first one were not having any of it, so I had to use a bigger bit. Think the larger holes should be ok, hoovered them, plugged them and fixed the bracket and it seemed solid.

So each shelf has 5 50mm screws (two on each end, one in the middle) and are level.